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State of the University Address

Dr. Charles M. Ambrose - President
August 23, 2010

Since our family arrived in Warrensburg on July 25th, I have had the opportunity
to express our collective thanks to the Board of Governors, faculty, staff,
students, and friends of the University for the opportunity to join you in
service. This afternoon as we consider Where We Are – What We Do – and
Where We Are Going into the Future – I would like to once again say "thank
you" for all that you do to build a strong sense of an engaged
community.

This engaged community invests itself in the success of our students in many
diverse and exciting ways. Over the last 30 days we have experienced this engagement
through several events -- the Community Band Concert, United Way Campaign Kickoff;
Warrensburg Rotary Club, the Community Advisory Board at Whiteman AFB, the
Annual Athletic Auction, Mule Haul, Freshmen Academic Convocation, and with
the Alumni Board and Foundation Board, and Johnson County Alumni. Today, we
join together as we begin our second week of classes for the 2010-2011 academic
year. Throughout these many points of engagement I have been deeply impressed
by your care for students and the sense of service to others in and around
this campus who provide a collective identity for the University of Central
Missouri.

As the campus prepared this summer for a new academic year, a transition planning
team has been hard at work under the capable leadership of Dr. Gordon Lamb.
I would also like to thank other members of the committee – Drs.
George Wilson, Alice Greife, Shari Bax, David Kreiner, and Hank Setser. The team met
with 24 different constituent groups from across campus to ask, "What
is Important and What is Possible!" From these discussions, the
committee worked hard to outline a set of starting points that will be shared
with you
as we begin our work together.

Another set of important factors impacting our future was provided last Tuesday
in Jefferson City as Governor Nixon gathered Missouri higher education leaders
from all sectors for the first educational summit in more than 20 years. Board
of Governors President Walt Hicklin, Drs. George Wilson, Michael Bersin, Mike
Grelle, and I represented our university. As a newcomer to Missouri Higher
Education, this was an extraordinary opportunity to understand our place and
purpose as we build the future of our university in the context of needs and
vision for our state.

For the next few moments, let’s juxtapose the work of transition; the
starting points that I bring with me as your new president; and the public
policy agenda of the Governor of the State of Missouri, to build a template
that can serve to strengthen our strategic position and increase the University’s
recognized sense of destination [both in place and purpose], alignment of our
priorities and programs, and ultimately, the value to the constituencies we
serve.

The strategic leadership required to build this new positioning is symbolized
in a meaningful way by the transformation of one of the front doors to our
campus that is currently under way next door to us this afternoon – the
Morrow-Garrison Building. This visible transformation represents the opportunity
that we have to consider together what is possible for our university community.

Morrow-Garrison

The Morrow Health and Physical Education Building was completed in 1939. Walter
E. Morrow was a Professor and Department Chair of Economics, Dean of the Faculty
and acting President (1930-31). In years past, the building housed two large
gymnasiums and a pool that was the first swimming facility for the campus.
In 1950, an annex was added that served as a student center with a main lounge,
small kitchen, snack bar, game room, student organizations’ room and
a library/reading room on the lower level.

In late 1959, the Garrison Building was built to house a newer and larger
gymnasium. James R. Garrison, who advocated for a new facility, was a former
student and captain of the 1927 basketball team, and in later years a member
of Board of Regents. He died in 1954 before the facility became a reality.

Today Morrow-Garrison brings together resources for the University that is
clearly built on a historic and strong foundation. The significance of this
heritage has been thoughtfully preserved and enhanced by the care and quality
of work of these structures as they are being transformed to meet our students’ future
needs. Morrow-Garrison will couple our academic mission of teaching, scholarship,
and service for the programs utilizing the facility next semester. Additionally,
the newly constructed Student Recreation and Wellness Center will transform
the co-curricular experience for our students to provide holistic activities
that build an increasingly heightened sense of the total collegiate experience
that is distinctive here.

Building our future on a strong and historic foundation - bridging the
academic and co-curricular needs of students to provide a true collegiate and
student-centered experience -- Morrow-Garrison and the new Student Recreation
Center serve as a visible example of where we are and, perhaps more importantly,
where we can go together as an engaged learning community.

A New Reality

A new reality does exist for our world, the state of Missouri, and the communities
that we serve. We are, as Governor Nixon clearly articulated, one of the most
important aspects of not only recovery, but ultimately, the advancement of
useable knowledge for the future. In order to effect positive and forward momentum – and
realize the opportunities presented by transition and this refocus of priorities
on public higher education – I would like to suggest that we begin our
work together with a set of priorities that will allow us to manage through
the current economic cycle [requiring us to do more with less better] and realize
our fullest potential.

First, we must work to enhance the value proposition of the University of
Central Missouri to the wide range of constituents that we serve. Access and
attainment in higher education is driven first by being a university of choice
and second by ensuring affordability. Coming from the private sector – this
consideration for college choice was defined by cost, programs, and reputation.
For UCM, the value of the collegiate experience coupled with the means it requires
to afford a college experience comes together in the value proposition for
all students. There is also an important value proposition that we as an institution
create for work-life balance as you teach and support the learning environment
on this campus. Value is extended to the community in the form of partnerships
with schools, non-profits, and corporations for the purposes of economic, social,
cultural, and community initiatives. Value is sought after by donors. Donors
are deciding amongst a busy and crowded selection of choice as they decide
where they can give their support and where it will yield the greatest return
on their charitable investment. By aggressively focusing, defining and enhancing
the value of our university, we will be turned more readily to as an offensive
tool -- a proactive resource for the future versus a means by which budget
shortfalls and reductions are managed.

The second requirement focuses on UCM as a mission-driven university. Our
requirement to serve within a community that is learning, open, caring,
just, disciplined, celebrative, and purposeful is built on a strong heritage and
must also be transformed into a vision that meets the needs of tomorrow’s
students. Our mission to serve, properly aligned, provides future alumni with
a collegiate experience that is active and engaged, bringing together the knowledge
required for leadership with their engaged learning experiences that equips
them to make a difference. These are tools that linked together with our recognized
focus on placement and career services makes UCM graduates more competitive
through their experiences here. The mission of this university will be focused
upon by students seeking value, by higher education in the state of the Missouri
as it seeks to strengthen both educational effectiveness and institutional
efficiency, and by our work together to align our resources and efforts to
programs that are recognized as distinctive and meaningful.

Our future together will also be driven by an accelerated need for educational
partnership and collaboration with others to meet both our challenges and opportunities.
As I met and discussed future potential with members of the higher education
community in Jefferson City, our university was clearly identified as a willing
partner with many diverse resources across the state. This willingness and
existing level of collaboration must be lifted up so that the UCM story is
told and that awareness builds more opportunity with public education, community
colleges, non-profit and for-profit corporations in order to meet a greater
need during a time when all resources are much more strained.

Finally, any focus for the future of this institution must include a heightened
sense of responsibility for student-success. I am grateful to be joining you
because you care for students and the individualized sense of responsibility
for student success is an important part of the DNA of this institution. But,
if we are to effect the "big goal" discussed by Governor Nixon
of increasing our state’s population that holds a college degree from
39 percent to 60 percent – the 461,886 more Missourians that need to
be reached by 2025 must be included in our response. This outcome-based focus
includes both meeting the needs of students who are not currently in
the pipeline,
as well as helping increase the number of those who are enrolled to
complete their degrees.

Looking ahead over the coming year, we are going to utilize tools developed
by the Association of Governing Boards and sponsored by the Lumina Foundation
to build campus-wide engagement in a model program that focuses on Governance
for Student Success.

This new model will provide an invigorated focus on strategic leadership and
positioning, university-wide productivity, and a resource allocation model
that provides both an open and engaged process for aligning our resources with
the programs that will define both our identity and future potential.

Taken together – building a stronger value proposition, mission
focus and alignment; growing partnerships and collaboration; and continuing
a student-centered
experience that increases success -- will position our university for the short-term
challenges required within this economy and the longer-term vision and process
for reaching for what is possible.

What can we hope for in return? – Governor Nixon outlined his agenda
that includes a sustainable funding model for the state of Missouri that we
can implement. This goal is hoped for across the nation and the public sector
and one that will allow for thoughtful decision-making to consider college
costs, new sources of revenues, and ultimately the resources required to move
this university forward.

We are beginning this journey together from a strong starting position.

The Academic Experience

We begin the school year across all University programs with strong and positive
growth in credit hour production, headcount, and full-time equivalent enrollments.
Although our final census is not complete until after the fourth week of classes:

On
the first day of classes: First-year student enrollment has increased 5.5
percent and initial transfer students increasing 11.5 percent.

Our enrollment includes 2,727 students in our residence halls – a
7.3 percent increase over last year [187 students] with 1,416 of those being
new students.

169 international students attended new student orientation [57
more than last year] with 464 international students here at UCM from 56
countries
[representing growth across all comparisons].

The Honors College welcomes 125 new freshmen with an average ACT
of 28 and a High School GPA of 3.9. The enrollment in the Honors College
will
reach 525 with an overall retention rate of 92 percent

This fall we welcome 32 new faculty members to the UCM community and
have more than 80 new staff members [since last November 2009] that have been
recruited since last year. With additional funding from the "Caring for
Missourians" initiative, that is an increase of four faculty members
and decrease of five staff position. These new faculty members join a faculty
that produced 14 books and monographs, 15 book chapters, 246 articles in peer-reviewed
journals, and 477 conference presentations last year. As was discussed last
week in Jefferson City, for several years you have been all about producing
greater institutional efficiencies – teaching and supporting more students
at 2001 funding levels -- with fewer people and less resources.

You have worked to build stronger educational effectiveness and quality
across academic programs with more program accreditations than any other state
university in Missouri. As a university community, you have committed to an
engaged learning program; one example is Integrative Business experience – where
students gain real life experience through service; generate income that has
been donated to local charities; and invested more than 8,000 hours of time.
It is these types of experiences across the curriculum that contributes to
a placement rate that is clearly distinctive of the institution. These are
also programs whose story needs to be told.

I am truly excited to learn about the breadth of initiatives and the distinctive
experiences produced on this campus from the Talking Mules, to a model Division
II athletic program, to THRIVE that welcomes 12 new members to our university
community...

Campus Environment, Energy Savings and Sustainability

Throughout the summer and into this semester – the learning environments
on this campus are being improved. These projects include:

$3 million in improvements to residence halls across the campus

Completion of the SGA-sponsored Campus Lighting Initiative

Aforementioned Morrow Garrison and work begun on the Highway 13
corridor

And, the new student success facility in the Kirkpatrick Library
providing a wide range of development and academic support.

Finally, the 18-month effort of upgrade infrastructure systems and Energy
Services Contract is almost complete – encouraging campus-wide sustainability,
improving building environments, and meeting the targets for energy savings.

Building Our Future Together

Over the next several months, I am going to ask for your help as we seek to
build a new strategic position for the University that will provide a collective
sense of vision for the future. We will implement a new governance model focused
on student success, and as we move toward our institutional accreditation,
we will assess our institutional competencies in order to decide what to do
more or less of; what to keep and what to let go; and how to add value to our
programs.

As your new president, I want to hear from your individualized perspective
answers to the following important questions. Your response will help me to
learn and better understand what makes the University of Central Missouri distinct
and will serve as a catalyst to a very significant period in our institution’s
history.

First, what do you celebrate or cherish most about UCM? What are the core
values of your Central Missouri experience? What are the University’s
greatest contributions to higher education and to the communities we serve?

Second, as we reach toward 2020, where would you like your university to move
over the next 10 years? What aspirations do you have for your university and
how can we respond to the new realities challenging the state of Missouri and
beyond?

By asking these questions, I am hopeful to gain knowledge that only you have
about what makes UCM meaningful and gather a collective sense of what we can
reach for in the days and months ahead. I ask this of you as alumni, faculty,
staff, Board of Governors, students, and members of the UCM community as we
refine our sense of vision and mission. I value your responses and invite you
to engage in the process. Your thoughts, ideas, and input concerning the value
and future of the University will help respond to needs and meet the challenges
and potential ahead.

Thank you for the many ways that you are building an engaged community that
is being called upon to respond to this significant period ahead. Recognizing
the value of education, the breadth and depth of the experiences provided by
the University, and examples represented in the lives and commitments of many
outstanding alumni and for a future in those that will make UCM their University
of choice.

In thinking about being a part of this university in Warrensburg – I
have been reminded frequently of my father who represented a major influence
on who I am and what I am doing. His life is reflected by the Psalmist who
reminds us that our lines have been drawn in pleasant places and that
we are recipients of delightful inheritance.

Building on those that have gone before us, as a place that serves others
with knowledge and meaning, we do maintain stewardship of both a place and
a purpose – an engaged community meant to provide educational access
and opportunity to a world in need.

I look forward to this journey with you and hope for you a meaningful and
productive year ahead.